Christian-Social People's Party (Liechtenstein)

The Christian-Social People's Party (German: Christlich-Soziale Volkspartei, CSV), often shortened to simply the People's Party (German: Volkspartei, VP), was a social liberal political party in Liechtenstein.^[1] It tended to be more popular in the Oberland, and supported closer ties with Switzerland as opposed to Austria. Founded in 1918, the Christian-Social People's Party and the Progressive Citizens' Party (FBP) were the first political parties in Liechtenstein.^[2]

Christian-Social People's Party Christlich-Soziale Volkspartei
Abbreviation	VP
Founder	Wilhelm Beck
Founded	February 1918; 106 years ago (February 1918)
Dissolved	1 January 1936; 88 years ago (1 January 1936)
Merged into	Patriotic Union
Newspaper	Liechtensteiner Nachrichten (Liechtenstein News)
Ideology	Social liberalism
Political position	Centre
Colours	Red
Politics of Liechtenstein Political parties Elections

History

Formation and putsch

Further information: November 1918 Liechtenstein putsch

Wilhelm Beck

Anton Walser

Martin Ritter

The party's roots originate behind the ideals of lawyer and politician Wilhelm Beck when he formed an opposition group around himself in 1914 with its newspaper Oberrheinische Nachrichten against the government of Leopold Freiherr von Imhof.^[3][4] The party itself was established in February 1918 as an off-shoot of the trade union movement.^[5] In the 1918 Liechtenstein general election, the first it contested, it won 5 out of 12 of the seats in the Landtag of Liechtenstein.^[6]

The party conducted a de facto coup d'état against Imhof's government in November 1918, which forced his government to resign and replaced with a provisional executive committee led by VP member Martin Ritter, the first Liechtensteiner native head of government.^[7][8][9]

Political history and ideology

The VP advocated for an expansion of democracy and progressive social policies, and was also supportive of the country's constitutional monarchy.^[5] Due to its pro-democratic social liberal leanings and party colours, party members were often referred to disparagingly as "Reds".^[1]

It first formed the country's first and only government following the 1922 elections under Gustav Schädler with Beck as President of the Landtag of Liechtenstein and remained in power until losing the 1928 elections.^[9][10] The party lost significant credibility when his government was the subject of an embezzlement scandal involving the National Bank of Liechtenstein, primarily by party chairman Anton Walser in 1928. Johann II forced his government to resign in June 1928 as a result, and early elections were called.^[11]

In 1935, the VP formed an alliance with the Liechtenstein Homeland Service (LHD), which was referred to as the 'National Opposition'. This alliance pushed through an initiative to introduce proportional representation within the country.^[12] However, the subsequent 1935 Liechtenstein electoral system referendum was narrowly rejected by voters.^[13] Motivated by a desire to unite the opposition prior to the 1936 Liechtenstein general election, the VP and LHD merged on 1 January 1936 to form the Patriotic Union.^[4][12] In addition, the respective party newspapers merged to form the Liechtensteiner Vaterland.^[14]

Electoral performance

Election	Leader	Performance		Rank	Government
		Seats	+/–
1918	Wilhelm Beck	5 / 15	New	2nd	Opposition
1922	Gustav Schädler	11 / 15	6	1st	Majority
1926 (Jan)		9 / 15	2	1st	Majority
1926 (Apr)		9 / 15	0	1st	Majority
1928		4 / 15	5	2nd	Opposition
1930	Wilhelm Beck	0 / 15	4	2nd	Extra-parliamentary
1932		2 / 15	2	2nd	Opposition

References

1. "Christlich-soziale Volkspartei". e-archiv.li (in German). Liechtenstein National Archives. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
2. "History". Fürstentum Liechtenstein. Government of Liechtenstein Marketing. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
3. Leipold-Schneider, Gerda (31 December 2011). "Beck, Wilhelm". Historisches Lexikon des Fürstentums Liechtenstein (in German). Retrieved 30 September 2023.
4. Marxer, Wilfried (31 December 2011). "Christlich-soziale Volkspartei (VP)". Historisches Lexikon des Fürstentums Liechtenstein (in German). Retrieved 10 October 2024.
5. Vincent E McHale (1983) Political parties of Europe, Greenwood Press, p609 ISBN 0-313-23804-9
6. Paul Vogt (1987). 125 Jahre Landtag. Vaduz: Landtag of the Principality of Liechtenstein.
7. Quaderer, Rupert (31 December 2011). "Novemberputsch 1918". Historisches Lexikon des Fürstentums Liechtenstein (in German). Retrieved 3 October 2023.
8. Quaderer, Rupert (31 December 2011). "Ritter, Martin". Historisches Lexikon des Fürstentums Liechtenstein (in German). Retrieved 12 November 2011.
9. "Mitglieder der Regierung des Fürstentums Liechtenstein 1862-2021" (PDF). www.regierung.li. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 February 2024. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
10. Dieter Nohlen; Philip Stöver (2010). Elections in Europe: A data handbook (in German). Nomos. p. 1182. ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7.
11. Büchel, Donat (31 December 2011). "Sparkassaskandal". Historisches Lexikon des Fürstentums Liechtenstein (in German). Retrieved 18 May 2023.
12. Marxer, Wilfred (31 December 2011). "Nationale Opposition". Historisches Lexikon des Fürstentums Liechtenstein (in German). Retrieved 13 August 2024.
13. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1172 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
14. Marxer, Wilfried (2015). "Liechtensteiner Vaterland". Historisches Lexikon des Fürstentums Liechtenstein (in German). Retrieved 15 January 2024.

Further reading

• Peter Geiger (1997). Liechtenstein in den Dreissigerjahren 1928–1939 (in German) (1st ed.). Zürich: Liechtenstein Institute. ISBN 3-906393-28-3.